Australian producer Hydro Produce is known mainly for its extensive resources and fresh vegetables. What started as a small farming business in the 1940s has grown to be a market leader in the fresh produce farming, packing, and supply sector across Australia.
With the need to supply fresh produce, single-use plastic packaging was the most practical and safe solution. With vegetables travelling across Australia, it’s important that they make the distance before hitting the shelves. But keeping the produce fresh and damage-free requires packaging that often ends up heading straight to landfill and the environment foots the bill for preserving this produce.
Sharnah Coulthart of Hydro Produce says that over the past twelve months, Hydro Produce has made huge changes to their use of single-use conventional plastic packaging in the hopes that these changes set an example and inspire others to follow suit.
Hydro Produce recognised a demand for environmentally sustainable packaging increase amongst customers. Now, Hydro Produce is working towards contributing to a circular economy for compost waste.
With an emphasis on plastic packaging, it was important to find a solution that would meet the needs of Hydro Produce customers so that they would receive the best product available.
Hydro Produce has reduced negative environmental impact by switching to BioPak compostable packaging. Now, their fresh produce is transported across Australia to national supermarket chains and independent retailers in compostable packaging which can be disposed of in the compost bin at home or processed in an industrial composting facility.
Moving towards zero waste with compostable packaging is a big change within the industry. Customer support towards moving to greener packaging made the transition seamless. Hydro Produce has been able to reduce their plastic use and limit packaging to landfill.
Switching to compostable packaging is a simple step that makes a big difference especially for fresh produce where large quantities of single-use packaging are used.
By replacing plastic containers, Hydro Produce has reduced CO2 emissions by 60 tonnes and is saving 167,000 kilos of plastic waste from landfills and oceans each year.
They’ve been able to reduce food wastage by opting for compost friendly packaging: smaller amounts of products can be transported without such a severe environmental impact and waste.
Compostable packaging and food scraps collected can recycle the way nature intended: composting.
